The Return
by Fire Panther
Summary: Set durring Mummy Returns-Amunet, younger sister to Evy and Jon, has been having visions. How do they play into the drama unfolding for her sister's family? OC/Ardeth
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So my roommate and I were watching The Mummy Returns last night. This of course inspired some writing today

This will be slightly AU as the movies never really tell us (or if they did I missed it) much about Jonathan and Evy's family, and I'm taking a few liberties with Ardeth Bay's history….and well, probably with history in general in a few places!

**DISCLAIMER:** I own only Nettie. If I owned Ardeth he would never leave my bedroom…

"Mom, Dad, I can explain everything!"

Nettie chuckled, half coughing from the water she hadn't meant to swallow, at her nephew's words. The look of panic on his face was priceless. "Relax, kid, I think it was your mum's fault this time." She grinned, getting to her feet and roughing the child's blond hair.

Nineteen year old Amunet, just Nettie to her family and friends, was still amazed at her older sister's life…loving husband, adorable child, traveling the world, respected by scholars. Sometimes it all made Nettie feel out of place. Then Evy would break something, or create a disaster area in a store…confirming that in their lack of physical grace, they were, indeed, sisters. Even Jonathan seemed to have a knack for trouble, though his tended to involve angry husbands and gamblers more than knocked over canned goods.

Nettie wished she had known her older siblings better as they grew up, but their grandmother had been determined that at least one of the children be raised 'properly'. She had swept young Nettie away after her parents' funeral. The child had been only five years old. An uncle had taken custody of Jon and Evy, as their father had written asking him to do years before. He had tried to keep the children together, but their grandmother—his stepmother—had pointed out (through her solicitor as she herself would never set foot in such a heathen land as Egypt) that the letter had not named young Nettie. This was no oversight, deliberate or accidental, on her father's part, as Nettie had not yet been conceived at the time the letter was written.

Off to gloomy old England the child had gone, away from her beloved home. After awhile it had seemed like it had all been a dream. The warm sands, the clear blue skies…running and playing with her siblings and the neighborhood children. The love and laughter of her mother and father. All a fading dream, a wisp of memory.

She had seen her brother and sister only twice between then and her eighteenth birthday. Once at the funeral of her grandfather's brother, where she had been forbidden to speak to them, and once when Evy turned 18.

Evy and Jon had shown up at the manor that day, demanding that their baby sister be returned to them. Excited, Nettie had run up the stairs, ignoring her tutor's admonition of such behavior. She had packed the few things she thought she would need and was waiting in the foyer, her small bag in hand, just in time to see her siblings 'escorted out the door without her. Her grandmother's cold eyes had burned as the girl's shoulders had slumped and she fled back up the stairs.

After that there had been nothing, not so much as a holiday greeting from the elder siblings. Nettie learned later that the letters had come...letters, cards, gifts…all tossed away as they arrived, destroyed before she saw them.

The day she turned eighteen, Nettie packed her small bag once more. Not knowing where she was going, she walked away…out the door and down the tree-lined drive, without a backwards glance. Jonathan, Evy, Rick, and Alex were standing beside Rick's car just outside the gate. All had welcomed her with open arms.

This was her first trip back to Egypt since her parents' funeral. For the first time in fourteen years she felt at home, healthy even. She had been rather sickly growing up. The cold, damp weather of England had played havoc on her lungs, leaving her weak, almost frail. The deep tan she had worn as a child had long since faded, leaving her pale enough that at first glance one could deny her half-Egyptian heritage. A closer look at her raven hair and dark eyes set into the features of her kin were enough to mark her as 'exotic'. She was an alabaster copy of their mother.

Shaking her head as Rick and Evy surveyed the damage to the temple, Nettie stepped outside. As soon as the sun hit her, she fell into what her grandmother had always referred to as her 'fits'…

_The hot sun was still beating down on her and the young woman lifted her face to the warmth. A sharp voice nearby snapped her eyes open and sent her scurrying on her errand. The temple complex was bustling with people, the buildings clean and new. The girl darted through the crowd deftly, carefully clutching a small package._

_She narrowly avoided being pushed to the ground by a group of men haggling over a horse, and she turned, ready to give them a piece of her mind. She froze when she realized they were the Pharaoh's own guards. She bowed, blushing, finding herself apologizing for bumping into them! She heard a familiar voice excusing her, encouraging her on her errand, and looked up with a small, shy smile to the guard captain. Her heart fluttered when he returned her smile. Without another word she darted off again._

"Aunt Nettie? Aunt Nettie…are you alright?" Nettie blinked, startled as she looked up to Alex.

"I…I'm fine. Just a bit tired I guess." She found she was sprawled on the ground outside the temple. Evy and Rick stepped out just then, Rick quirking a brow at his sister in law's position, Evy rushing over to fuss over her.

"Evelyn, stop, I'm fine! It must have been because I was cold from the water and then came out here…shocked my system with the sudden heat..."

"She told _me_ she was just tired" Alex blurted out. "_And_ before she was waking up she was saying something…sounded like 'our death bay'…creepy stuff, that."

Evy and Rick exchanged a look. "Um…Alex….was it more run together, like a name, Ardeth Bay maybe?" Evy asked. Alex just shrugged.

Rick let out a single laugh "Our death…Ardeth…yeah that sounds about right I could see him being involved there…" Evy glared at him, and Rick knew he'd get a lecture. The Med'jai was a good friend but it did seem that they only saw him when there was danger involved.

"Did you hear that name from Jonathan, Nettie?" her sister asked. Evy couldn't remember ever mentioning Ardeth in front of Nettie and she couldn't think of a time he might have come up in conversation with Rick. Besides, she and rick were seldom apart so surely she would know if he had told her little sister.

Nettie shook her head no, then shrugged. "I...I don't know, maybe? I don't even remember saying it…." She hugged her knees to her chest, ignoring the sand coating her damp skirt. She had not yet told any of them about the visions during her fits, not after what had happened the first time she remembered having one. Her grandmother had first threatened to have her locked away, called her crazy, and then declared her possessed and called for a priest. The 'exorcism' had nearly killed the six year old. After that when she fell into the fits she told her grandmother she wasn't feeling well and no, of course she hadn't seen anything.

Evy still knelt beside her, smiling gently as she reached for her little sister's chin, tilting the girls face to look at her. "Tell me what's happening, I know something's wrong…." Nettie bit her lower lip and tried to look away, shaking a little even in the heat. Rick quietly convinced Alex to help him begin loading the camels for their return to the city.

"You saw it too, didn't you?" Even whispered, leaning close. "You saw the temple as it was!" Evy was clearly excited.

"T-to? You see things like that too?"

"Recently more than ever, though there were a few times in the past. Mostly for me it comes in dreams. Jonathan likes to think he has the gift of future site instead of past, which is why he gambles so much."  
>"But doesn't he usually lose?"<p>

"Like I said…he likes to _think _he can see things…" Evy giggled.

Nettie smiled a little, starting to relax. "Grandmother said I was evil for having visions…"

"You're not evil, just very special. Our mother could see things you know, past and future. She knew we would be a family again…she knew grandmother would take one of us too, but she thought it was me. She didn't realize at the time there was a second daughter. That was why father wrote to Uncle William to take us. He wrote another letter after you were born, I remember him telling us, but William never received it. Now….tell me why you were calling for Ardeth Bay…Rick and I have a friend by that name..."

"I don't know the name…honestly! I've never heard any of you speak of him. Maybe Alex misheard me….after all, if he's your friend in this day, I couldn't have seen him in ancient times, right?" In her confused state, that logic sounded right to Nettie. Not quite so much to Evy.

"I know you now and you saw yourself in ancient times…"

"But I wasn't _me_. I was …well…I don't know who I was. One of them said my name but now I cannot recall it." Nettie stood, with Evy's assistance, letting her big sister steer her into the shade inside the temple.

"Well, why don't you tell me what you do remember and we'll go from there." Evy smiled gently and settled in to listen to her sister's tale.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of their trip seemed to fly by, and soon enough they were returning to Rick and Evy's estate. The night was gloomy, rain drizzling as they pulled up to the house. Nettie gently shook Alex's shoulder to wake him. He had curled up against her on the ride back from the airport. It was the first time she'd seen him sleep since they left Cairo, and she had to wonder where he got all that energy from. He had talked almost nonstop on the flight.

Once out of the car, she took her small bag from the trunk and stood a moment, looking up at the grey night sky. Soon she felt a small tug at her sleeve. "Don't be sad Aunt Nettie, we'll go back soon." Alex smiled up at her before moving to help carry things inside. Nettie followed, intending to help, but Rick stopped her.

"Go on inside, you look like hell…" he told her. The girl rolled her eyes and gave him a slight glare before heading inside. "I meant that in a nice way!" Rick called after her helplessly, looking confused. Evy just kissed his cheek and headed inside as well. "Women…." The beleaguered male muttered.

Heading straight for the kitchen, Nettie was still grumbling. The sight of a light from beneath the kitchen door cheered her and she pushed the door open. "You would not _believe_ the flight we just had!" She said to Jonathan…or at least the person behind the open pantry door, who she was assuming was her brother. "First we were delayed for three hours at Cairo, then the ride was so choppy that I—You are NOT Jonathan….." She froze as a man in dark robes stepped from behind the door.

She realized he was starting to speak to her, but in her daze she did not hear words, just the music of his voice. He could have been telling her he was there to kill them all and she would have smiled. She was completely enthralled…for standing before her was the guard captain of her vision.

Ardeth Bay had smiled when he heard the woman speaking. She sounded so much like Evy but younger, her British accent a bit more pronounced. The younger sister Evelyn and Jonathan had spoken so much about, no doubt. He had turned to her, meaning to assure her that she was safe and that he was welcomed in her sister's home, but once he saw her face he forgot all of that.

His voice came in rapid fire Egyptian, in an ancient dialect rarely heard outside of his village. His tone was furious but even he could tell it was lost on the girl. He took a deep, calming breath, his hand gripping the edge of the counter until his knuckles went white.

She was finally coming out of her daze, reminding herself that as much as this man looked like her vision, he could not be. She was also noting the anger on his face, which was beginning to worry her. She was coming to the realization that standing before her was not the friendly guard of her visions but a strange, heavily armed man, and she may well be in grave danger.

As if to confirm that thought, the sounds of fighting reached them from the library. Nettie turned, meaning to run to her family, but he caught her arm, his grip harsh. "Stay here!" he growled, releasing her as he himself headed for the door she had entered moments before. Pausing, he returned to her, eyes blazing, his grip bruising as he took her arms in his hands and brought his lips crashing to hers. The kiss was fierce, passionate…the kiss of lovers who thought they had forever lost each other. When he pulled away suddenly and stalked out of the kitchen, it was Nettie left gripping the counter in shock.


	3. Chapter 3

Nettie, of course, had no intention of following the stranger's orders. She never had been one to do what she was told. As they came to the library door, Ardeth glanced back at her with a sigh and shook his head. "I told you to stay in the kitchen…"

"Yes, you did.."

"Now I will kill you and take it anyway." A deep voice in the library spoke, freezing Nettie in her tracks, while Ardeth stepped into the library.

"Ardeth, what are you doing here?" Evy asked. Nettie stepped into the doorway to see her sister facing off against a tall, dark man. A man who apparently had friends backing him. It barely registered that Evy had just identified the man she'd just kissed as the man she'd been muttering about in her fit.

"Perhaps explanations are best left for later…" Was Ardeth's greeting as he moved between Evy and the larger stranger.

"Ardeth Bay…"

"Loc Nah.." The two seemed to greet each other, but Nettie was relieved that the greeting did not seem friendly. At least Ardeth seemed to be on her sister's side. Nettie pulled Alex against her as fighting erupted between Loc Nah's friends, Ardeth Bay, and Evy.

"Whoa mom! Where did you learn that?" Alex called out as his mother expertly blocked sword blows from one of the men in red.

"I have no idea!" Evy shrugged and then was pushed back, ending up pinned against a wall, her fists and knees her weapons now. "_That_, I learned from your father!"

Just then one of the men spoted Nettie and Alex, and snatched at the chest Alex held. He seemed determined to take it from the child, and Nettie was just as determined not to let him. She pushed at the man, her hands clawing at his face as she lacked a weapon. The man let go, backhanding her into a wall as he did. The last thing she saw as the blackness came over her was Ardeth facing off against the man who'd just hit her, his expression furious.

She came to a moment later to find Ardeth and Alex hovering over her. Starting to sit up, she groaned, looking around at the mess "Where's Evy?"

"Loc Nah's men took her…" Ardeth shook his head. "Come, we need to get out of here, there may still be others!"

She took his offered hand to stand, quickly checked Alex for any injuries, and then hurried outside with the two of them, just in time to see cars speeding away, her sister screaming from the back of one before being drugged. 

Rick and Jonathan were already outside. "Dad! Dad!" Alex shouted as they ran up to the pair

"Jonathan…" Ardeth greeted his old friend softly, while Jonathan immediately began checking over his baby sister.

"They hurt you…!"

"I'm fine, Jon, I promise…but they have Evy…."

Rick spotted Ardeth just then, grabbing the front of his robes and slamming him against the statue they stood near. "What the hell are you doing here?" he shouted. "No, scratch that, I don't care. Who the hell are those guys and where the hell are they taking my wife?"

"My friend, I'm not sure, but wherever this man is, your wife will surely be" Ardeth pulled a picture from his robes as Rick let him loose. Alex grabbed the picture, eyes wide.

"Hey! I know him! He's the curator, he works at the British Museum!"

"Are you sure?" Ardeth asked, almost incredulous that it had been so easy.

"You'd better believe him" Rick nodded. "He spends more time there than he does at home."

The four of them headed for the car, Jonathan still fussing over the bruise marring Nettie's face.

"Ok.." Rick said, looking to Ardeth as they walked. "You're here, bad guys are here, Evy's been kidnapped. Let me guess…"

"Yes, they have once again removed the creature from his grave…" 

"Creature?" Amunet quirked a brow, but no one seemed to hear her.

"I don't mean to point fingers…."Jonathan started as he did just that… "but isn't it you're job to make sure that _doesn't_ happen?"

"The woman who is is with him, she knows things, things that no living person could know." Ardeth seemed to be ignoring Jonathan's outcry. "She knew exactly where the creature was buried. We were hoping she would lead us to the bracelet. She obviously did, and now, they have it."

"I wouldn't get too nervous just yet…" Alex interrupted as he pushed back the sleeve of his jacket, revealing an elaborate bracelet.

"Is that gold?" Nettie rolled her eyes at her brother's anxious question. Only Jonathan could think of wealth at a time like this.

Ardeth's voice was rapid fire again, almost terrified it seemed. "By putting this on you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse!" Alex gasped, his eyes flying open wide.

"You, lighten up!" Rick said to Ardeth. "You—big trouble. You—Get in the car." He pointed at Alex and Jon in turn. "You. Inside. Lock everything up and stay put until one of us comes back!" He looked squarely at Nettie on that bit, but Ardeth laid a hand on his arm.

"They know of this house. It is not safe for her hear. I will not leave her behind."

Rick sighed. "Fine…in the car then!"

They all piled into Ricks vehicle and headed towards the city. Amunet knew the others were talking but she barely heard a word. The night had left her shaken up…she stared out the car window into the rainy night, silent. Ardeth glanced back at her several times, his expression worried.

"Do you…know Nettie already?" Rick asked cautiously. Ardeth shook his head.

"In this life, no….it is a long story, my friend." Ardeth left it at that and steered the conversation towards the Scorpion King.


	4. Chapter 4

_She could hear the river flowing nearby and opened her eyes, finding herself lying in the grass along the Nile. A soft smile spread across the girls face as she stood, reaching into her basket for the weapon secreted there. Silently she began the routine she saw her Mistress and the others do so often, the slow training ritual, her eyes closed as she moved. Clapping nearby startled her and she dropped the weapon in terror._

"_Do not be afraid, little one; I will not report you…." The Medjai guard captain smiled. "Why do you not train with the Princess? Why are you out here alone?"_

"_I…I wasn't training…I just picked it up…I was here gathering water…." She trembled, her eyes downcast until he lifted her chin with his finger. _

"_You are not in trouble…you do not need to lie to me."_

"_I am a servant…I am not allowed…."  
><em>

"_Servant in name and duties….but by blood you are as royal as Nefertiri herself…or nearly so. Do not think no one knows."_

"_You should not speak of this!"_

"_It is no secret that the High Priest is your father; even if no one will speak it aloud...You belong in a temple, serving the gods…or training alongside your mistress."  
><em>

"_I am handmaiden to Nefertiri, nothing more…please, I must go."_

_He took the dagger from her, returning it to her basket before settling the basket in her hands. "If you would like, meet me here tomorrow after the evening meal. You have the natural talent, I can see that. I will train you, if the others will not." _

_He brushed a kiss across her forehead, then turned to go, leaving the girl standing there, stunned. _

Nettie came awake with a start, gasping, drawing all eyes in the car to her, just as they pulled up in front of the museum. "Nettie girl! Are you alright?" Jonathan was fussing over her again. "That is a nasty bruise…maybe we should get you to a doctor.."

"I'm fine Jon, I promise. We need to get to Evy…"

"Right." Rick nodded. "Alex, Nettie, I have a big job for you…I want you to stay here and protect the car…"

"I could do that!" Jon tried to draw that job himself, prompting another eye roll from his sister.

"Protect the car?" Alex sounded offended. "Come on Dad, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid…"

"I know…"Rick muttered, roughing up the child's hair.

"Daaaad…." His son complained.

Jonathan looked nervously to Nettie. "If you see anyone come running out screaming, it's just me."

This time it was Rick rolling his eyes. "Maybe you should stay here and um…watch them…"

"Yes, now you're talking!" Jonathan nodded vehemently.

Ardeth's eyes had not left Nettie through the entire conversation. He knew she had seen something. She could tell he knew. When she finally met his eyes, his look was almost pained, longing for something. She managed a small smile as he climbed out of the car with her brother in law. "Be careful in there…."

She wasn't sure he heard her as he and Rick moved to retrieve weapons…she hadn't been aware that her sister's husband kept an arsenal in his car, her eyes popping open when she saw all the weapons. She was about to speak to them, to volunteer to go in with them, when Jonathan pulled her aside to fuss over her once more. Before she could get away from him, Rick and Ardeth had vanished inside the museum.

Jonathan watched his sister's gaze. "What is it about him that seems to fascinate you so much, hmm, baby sister? Tall, dark and handsome, and all that?" 

She shook her head. "I feel like I know him. Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

Jonathan smiled a little sadly. "My dear girl, after some of the things I have seen since I met that man, nothing sounds silly or farfetched anymore. I've fought mummies, been rich beyond my wildest dreams, and wallowed in my own grief and filth because of it. Now, I'm flat broke again….and it would seem I haven't learned a bloody thing from it because here we are…back to the mummies."

"Mummies? Jon you can't be serious…is that what this is about, those crumbling dust clumps Evy's so fond of working with?"

"Those 'crumbling dust clumps' are dangerous when they come back to life, Nettie. You'll do well to stay out of their path and let the experts handle them."

"Uncle Jon, stop joking around…Mummies don't come back to life…" Even Alex rolled his eyes at poor Jon.

"They certainly do my boy…and the one they're trying to bring back this eve has a particular grudge against your parents…and Ardeth…and, well…me…" Jonathan seemed to grow ever paler.

A bit later, the three sat around the car, Alex talking in boyish amazement about the things the bracelet had shown him, and the legend of the Scorpion King, what he knew of it at least. "At the very top of the gold pyramid, there was a huge diamond…"

"Huge? How huge?" Jonathan was immediately torn from his self loathing and terror by the thought of profit, prompting a small giggle from Nettie.

Alex smiled, knowing he had his uncle's attention now. "It was so big, it would reflect the sun, and wink at distant travelers…beckoning them to their death!" Alex's voice dropped to a low whisper, making his aunt and uncle lean close.

The sudden sound of gunfire from inside startled them all and sent all three scurrying into the car, in a panic. Nettie, at least was more agile than the boys, flinging herself into the back seat while they were still trying to open the front door. She leaned over the seat to pop it open from inside. Jonathan tried to start the car….succeeding only in breaking the key…sending Alex into a fit, screaming things Nettie could barely understand.

"Be quiet, Alex! If there's going to be any hysterics they'll come from me!" Jon cried, slamming his fist against the steering wheel in terror. A an unearthly scream sent them all tearing back out of the car again, Jonathan in a panic. "What are we going to do? What are we going to do!" he shouted, practically in his nephew's face.

"You're asking me? I'm only eight years old for cripes sake!"

Nettie was already walking down the street. "Where do you think you're going?" Jonathan called after her.

"To find alternative means of transportation….sounds like we'll need it!" The males hurried after her as she tried one car door and then another, grumbling as each was locked. Up ahead there was a double decker bus, sitting empty as the driver went into a small café for his dinner break. The trio looked at each other in silent agreement before running to the bus. They were gone before the confused driver made it back outside.

By the time they came around the corner, Evy, Rick, and Ardeth were standing there looking a little confused. "Alex!" Evy called, relieved to see her son.

"What's the matter with my car?" Rick asked, looking entirely flummoxed.

"Well…I was forced to find an alternative means of transportation…" Jon started to explain.

"A DOUBLE DECKER BUS?" Rick screamed at him.

Jon pointed to Alex. "It was his idea!"

"Was not"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"It was MY idea!" Nettie interrupted to get them to shut off as everyone climbed aboard.

"Just go!" Rick shouted, pointing in the general direction they were heading.

"No! NO! NO Not my car!" Rick shouted as they careened towards a corner, Nettie looked back to see what was going on.

"Mummies? Jon wasn't joking?" The girl turned ashen white, looking like she was about to faint.

"Oh….I hate mummies…" Rick muttered…as if this was an everyday occurrence.


	5. Chapter 5

"Glad to see me now?" Ardeth arched a brow at Rick.

"Just like old times, huh?" Rick said with a forced, almost psychotic, grin before heading to the upper deck.

Nettie huddled with Alex at the front of the bus, her eyes wide, her mind trying desperately to process the night's events. Ardeth looked to her once more, his eyes still blazing…with fury and longing. "Keep me between you and the creatures, whatever happens."

"Ardeth…be careful…please…" Nettie's voice could barely be heard over the screeching of tires and the other various noises of the bus, but Ardeth nodded once. Gunshots rang out from the upper level as Rick tried to pick the mummies off before they reached the fleeing bus.

Nettie lept to her feet, alarmed as one of the creatures reached the bus door, only to be blasted back by Ardeth with one of Rick's guns. Ardeth was still trying to reload when the mummy's upper half swung back inside, knocking the gun out of his hands. The creature threw him against the window, grabbing his dark curls to throw the Medjai back and forth across the bus, prompting cries of alarm from both women.

Nettie rushed forward, kicking the creature back for a moment, giving Ardeth a chance to gain footing once more. The combat was hand to hand…or hand to claw at least…and for a moment the mummy got past Ardeth, lashing out at Alex and the women, missing as Evy pushed the other two back. Ardeth quickly moved between them, driving the undead towards the back once more. Above them they could hear Rick fighting another of the creatures, and things were not sounding good.

Ardeth paused, waiting for the creatures next move, distracted a moment as he looked to Nettie. "ARDETH!" She screamed as the top half of the mummy popped up once more from behind a seat, its claws tearing into the Medjai's arm.

"Turn! TURN! Turn!" Evy screamed, prompting Jonathan to turn the vehicle sharply, freeing Ardeth for a moment.

"Gah! Get out of the way!" Jon shouted at a car coming straight at them, waving his hand franticly. The other driver barely avoided the bus. After hitting a parked car Jon made another sharp turn, the bus practically out of control. Nettie looked out over the hood, hearing a thud, spotting Ricks gun…and just in time.

As she grabbed the gun she heard Ardeth cry out in pain, and she turned, finding the mummy pinning him to one of the seats, claws extended and about to tear into him. She didn't hesitate. Ardeth looked to her almost in shock as the first blast tore the mummy off of him. Nettie didn't stop. Two more shots were fired, knocking the mummy through the back window, destroying it. Ardeth gave her a smile, looking rather proud of her…but it didn't last.

"Look out!" Alex screamed, and Jon returned his own attentions to his driving, making another sharp turn to avoid a building….only to find they were headed straight for a low bridge.

They could hear the grinding as they went under….prompting Evy to scream for her husband. To their horror, they watched as pieces of the top of the bus fell behind them.

"Jonathan! We have to stop! Please!" Evy cried.

"Great driving, Uncle Jon!" Alex cried, more confident in his father's survival than his mother was. Evy started to leave the bus but Rick appeared from the stairway just then.

"Yeah…." Jon nodded weakly as they slowed to a stop in the middle of the great bridge.

Rick was panting, exhausted from the battle "You alright?" he asked, motioning to Ardeth and Nettie, sitting side by side, Nettie trying to tend to the worst of Ardeth's wounds.

"This was…" he winced. "My first bus ride…." The Medjai grinned, almost laughing, and Nettie found herself entranced once more by his smile.

"What would I do without you?" Evy asked, pulling Rick close.

"Are all librarians this much trouble?" her husband teased

"mmhmm.." Evy nodded, distracted as Rick kissed her softly.

"Uck…geeze…get a room…" Alex complained, wandering towards the back of the bus.

Both couples were snatched from their haze by Alex's cry as he was pulled from the bus.

"Alex!" each adult yelled, Rick the first off the bus, just in time to see Alex thrown into a car by Loc Nah. Desperate to save his son, Rick gave chase, but he could not keep up with the car. Alarm bells sounded as the bridge began to open, but Rick stayed on course, running up the slowly raising ramp, only to find himself falling back as he attempted to jump the gap. He could do no more than watch as the car sped away.

Evy clung to her husband when he returned, tears streaming down her face. Nettie, Jon, and Ardeth stood nearby, stunned and trying to process this new development. Ardeth moved to Evy and Rick first, the other two close behind.

"Please, do not fear for your son, my friends, they cannot hurt him, for he wears the bracelet of Annubis."

"Alex is wearing the bracelet?" Evy looked to Rick, almost more worried now.

"When he put it on, he said he saw the pyramids of Giza, he saw the temple at Karnak…" Rick explained.

"Yes," Ardeth continued, "And when they reach Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next step of the journey."

"Well, if we don't get to Karnak before them, we won't have any idea where to look for him next…"Evy seemed to be planning.

"Seems to me…" Rick sighed. "Like we need a magic carpet."


	6. Chapter 6

The drive back to the manor was subdued, the whole group quiet. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. At one point Nettie glanced over to fid Ardeth watching her. She wanted to ask what it was about her that upset him so, but she couldn't find the words. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before he turned away once more.

They didn't stay long. Rick and Jonathan ran inside, Rick grabbing his own bag and the girls'; Jon dashing to his rooms to pack his own. In less than half an hour the car had pulled up to the airport. Rick tracked down a pilot he knew, paying the man generously for a last minute flight to Cairo.

Ardeth seemed a bit pale as they lifted into the air, prompting a smile from Jon. Cheer up, old chap, at least we're not tied to the wings this time!"

Nettie quirked a brow. "The wings? That sounds less than pleasant.

"It was." Jon and Ardeth nodded in unison.

"You've never heard how the four of us became friends, have you, Nettie?" Rick asked, frowning a moment. Nettie shook his head. "Well, time for you to hear how this whole mess started. I think we should start all the way at the beginning…." He nodded to Ardeth, who began the tale, first of the Scorpion King, and then of Imhotep's curse and the Medjai's protection of the tomb. This time, however, he included a piece of information that even Evy had never heard. Imhotep had a daughter.

"He never acknowledged her, until the day he was sealed in his tomb." Ardeth said, his eyes never leaving Nettie. "He begged the Medjai to bring her to him, to let him see his child one last time. By this time the girl was a grown woman, and the Medjai Captain was in love with her. He knew that seeing her father like this would only hurt the girl, and that if the priest acknowledged her at this point she would be ruined. There was a chance that the Pharaoh would order her buried alongside her father to end their bloodline." 

"He kept her away from her father, from saying goodbye?" Nettie asked quietly.

"He was never a father to her!" Ardeth practically spat. "He never acknowledged here, even though all the Pharaoh's court suspected the servant girl was his, and indeed had tried to get him to acknowledge her, to bring her to the court as was her birthright. When the Captain refused the High Priests request, Imhotep cursed him and all Medjai. The captain and his men would never be able to rest. The only one who could break the curse was Imhotep's child. Only she could release the Medjai. The gaurds were spooked, but pushed it off as the ramblings of a dying man. No one realized how powerful Imhotep was becoming."

"And were they truly cursed?" Evy asked, almost breathlessly. Here was a piece of her precious history that she had been unaware of.

"They were indeed, my friend. All of the Medjai present that day were cursed. It was only weeks later that they discovered the truth. One of Imhotep's priests had escaped their notice, and run into the desert. They thought him dead, but he returned, seeking revenge for his Master. He found the guard captain at an oasis near the city, in the arms of Imhotep's daughter. The priest came to them, crawling like the worm he was, begging for his own forgiveness. In his pleading, he revealed to the girl what had transpired that day."

Jon looked confused. "He revealed what they already knew?"

Ardeth shook his head. "The Captain had never told the girl. He thought he was protecting her…he loved her madly. The priest's confession confused her, and she questioned her lover. He turned, trying to explain. The priest saw his chance. He grabbed a knife left lying with their food nearby and attacked . The wounds should have killed the captain, and yet they did not. He begged the girl to release him, but she refused!" Ardeth's eyes had grown dark, furious. Nettie shivered.

"She didn't want to lose him…" Evy whispered.

"She was furious with him, for not giving her the chance to be acknowledged by her father. She hated him for robbing her of his birthright. She refused to let him die. She did eventually alert the guards, but she took her time with it, leaving him there to suffer."

Nettie was shaking her head. "No, Evy is right…the girl couldn't let him go…she loved him!"

The others turned to look at her, Evy arching a brow. "She loved only the power he would have brought her. He had promised to asked the Pharaoh to make her his bride. She was as twisted as her father." Ardeth growled.

Nettie was fighting tears. "No, she loved him! I know she did!" Evy scooted closer to her sister, wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulders.

Ardeth practically shouted at her "You lie, she cared nothing for him. I know! I know what happened because this is not just some legend of my people. I was that Medjai!" he pulled open his outer robes, revealing the scars crisscrossing his chest, one particularly nasty one running from his side to near the middle of his ribcage, as if someone had gutted him. "She vanished after the attack. They say she left willingly with the priest, vowing to resurrect her father!"

"You're not telling us something." Rick stayed calm, his voice even as he kept his gaze on Ardeth, while Evy and Jon tried to calm their now-sobbing sister. "This has something to do with your interest in Nettie, doesn't it? Something to do with her visions?"

Evy looked to Rick, alarmed now. "You can't mean…"

Ardeth turned a glare to the girl. "I have reason to believe that she is the reincarnation of Imhotep's daughter.

Evy turned to her sister, wiping away the young woman's tears. "Have you seen…." She trailed off as the girl nodded.

"I...I haven't seen what Ardeth just spoke of. But I have…I know…my father was a high priest in the visions…"

Ardeth let out an Egyptian curse as his thoughts were confirmed. "Careful, chap, there are ladies present!" Jonathan admonished, earning himself a glare. Nettie half expected Ardeth to make a snide comment, given his anger and apparent hatred of her. If the things he said were true, she couldn't blame him. The only trouble was, she could not believe she would have done such a thing.

"So now I know where Ardeth and I fit into this…what about you three?" Nettie asked, her voice shaking. Did anyone else have an ancient grudge against her? Evy began to explain their family's part in Imhotep's first return and how they had defeated him, but Nettie barely heard. Her mind was spinning, her heart breaking.

"_Do you want your Medjai to suffer more? It can be arranged you know…" the priest leered at her, a knife held to her side, his grip firm on her arm._

_The girl sobbed. "No…please no…please…you're a priest, I know my father taught you some of his arts! You could heal him…at least tell me how to release him.." She was frantic. Her love lay in the sand nearby, his eyes glazed with pain, drifting in and out of consciousness._

"_And let your father's murderers go free?"_

"_Imhotep broke the most sacred laws! The Medjai did only what they had to. They are not murderers, Imhotep was!"_

_The priest let the dagger bite into her skin slightly, laughing. "In your eyes, perhaps. I cannot let you lift the curse. You will come with me and together we will return your father's glory. Perhaps not in this life…but together we will bring about a new people. People devoted to resurrecting your father."_

"_You're insane…"_

_The priest merely shrugged. "Come with me now, or I will see that he spends the rest of his very, very long life in agony."_

"_A-at least let me bring him hel[…please…I swear, once I know he is safe I will meet you outside the city."_

"_Fine. Summon help and meet me…there…" he pointed to a hut in the distance. "Be there before the sun sets."_

_The girl shivered and nodded, she knew she had little time. Freed from the grip of the priest, she knelt, kissing her beloved, swearing to find the way to return to him, to free him from her father's curse. Quickly she darted towards town, screaming for help as soon as she thought that she might be heard._

When Nettie woke, the plane was descending at Cairo. Ardeth looked pale, his eyes tightly shut, his face wet. The mighty Medjai was crying. Jon and Rick were staring in shock, first at Ardeth, and then Nettie, back and forth. Evy was gently holding her sister. "Are you alright?" she asked, seeing the girl's eyes flutter open.

Nettie nodded. "Wh-what happened…?" she asked.

"Aside from you yelling in Egyptian while you appeared to be out cold?" Rick quirked a brow.

"Egyptian far more advanced than I've yet taught you, I might add." Evy smiled proudly.

Nettie frowned and licked her lips, her moth feeling as if stuffed with sand. "What did I say? Why is he upset?"

"You were arguing with someone…begging them to heal him or release him. You were crying…you pledged your undying love." Jon answered.

Everyone looked at him in shock "What? I do know how to translate SOME ancient Egyptian without help."


End file.
